Bears have everything to lose in matchup with underdog Seahawks

What happens when a bad football team makes the playoffs? The answer: anything. Anything can happen when a team—any team—makes it into the playoffs.

The low-dwelling Seattle Seahawks earned a playoff berth when they clinched the pathetic NFC West with a dismal record of 7-9. Now, the only record that matters for the Seahawks is their 1-0 playoff record.

This Sunday, Jan. 16, the Chicago Bears will welcome those undefeated Seahawks to Soldier Field for the divisional round of the playoffs.

Now, before Bears fans go high-fiving one another and celebrating in the streets, keep one thing in mind: the Seahawks are not supposed to be playing in this game. They deserve to be watching the playoffs at home like the rest of the sub-.500 teams in the NFL—and that is a scary mindset for a team to have.

The only difference between the Seahawks and the other bottom-feeding teams in the NFL is that the Seahawks have a date with the Bears this Sunday, and they have absolutely nothing to lose. And that is the only thing that matters now.

If there’s one thing sports have taught me, it’s when a team has nothing to lose, rarely do they just give up. People love to root for the underdog, and for good reason. Nobody expected the Seahawks to be here—and they know it.

In this game, the 11-5 NFC North champion Bears have a lot to lose. The Seahawks have nothing to lose. They’re not supposed to be here. They weren’t supposed to defeat the defending Super Bowl champion Saints last weekend.

But they did.

They are playing on the house’s money, and loving every minute of it.

This, however, isn’t the first time these two teams have met this season. Remember back to mid-October when the Seahawks made a joke of the Bears at Soldier Field? The Seahawks stole that game, 23-20, in a game where the Bears’ offense gave up six sacks and went 0-12 on third down.

Let’s hope the Bears learned from that game. The Bears have unfinished business with the Seahawks, and it’s my hope that they are licking their lips as they prepare for this game.

It’s simple—the winner gets to play for a chance to represent the NFC in the Super Bowl. If that alone doesn’t psych you up for this game, there might be something wrong with you.

It’s the playoffs, anything can happen—and the Seahawks are proving that.